Switzerland is hesitant in EU dossier – and Brussels is going full throttle Mr. and Mrs. Swiss earned so much in 2022 – Mrs. significantly less than Mr.

It has been a little over two years since the Federal Council declared the framework agreement with the European Union a failure. He spent a long time trying to get domestic political approval for the agreement that had been in effect since November 2018. In the end, he capitulated to the resistance not only from the right but also from the left.

Brussels was angry and put relations “on hold”. Switzerland is to this day refused to participate in the Horizon Europe research programme. For a year now, there has been a battle for a fresh start in “exploratory talks”. Not much is known, but chief negotiator Livia Leu apparently did not get any major concessions.

Nevertheless, there have been positive signs since the beginning of the year. Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis (FDP) remained in his department and seemed more motivated than before in the Europe dossier. He received support from the cantons, which in March asked the Federal Council to end the polls and start formal negotiations with Brussels.

“The Bundesrat is afraid”

However, the momentum, if it ever existed, already seems to be haunting. The Bundesrat discussed EU relations for the umpteenth time on Wednesday. And again decided not to decide anything. A negotiating mandate for a new framework agreement will not be adopted until after the elections in October. They don’t want to supply ammunition to the SVP.

“The Federal Council is scared,” a canton representative said in an interview with Watson. Because the brakes have long since set the tone again. Concerns about further rapprochement with the EU and consolidation of the bilateral path through an institutional agreement have been expressed in various areas, including by previous proponents.

Fear of market opening

Vereniging Interpharma is one of them. He had always argued for a solution with the EU. Now he is suddenly skeptical about a possible health agreement because it could (!) open the market. You know that from the healthcare policy: when it comes to your own living costs, it’s no longer fun.

The railway union members want nothing to do with the opening of the Swiss rail network to foreign providers, especially Flixtrain. There are also reservations about an electricity or energy agreement, even though the industry considers such an urgent matter. But Switzerland may have to liberalize its electricity market for this.

Always new EU projects

The trade union federation also finds another hair in the soup. During his visit in March, the EU Vice-President responsible for Switzerland, Maros Sefcovic, offered concessions on the sensitive issue of wage protection. Now, however, it is the EU’s expense schemes that are angering Swiss trade unionists.

When it comes to finding hair in the EU soup, the Swiss skeptics are on the spot. They overlook the fact that new dishes are constantly being created in the Brussels kitchen. Lately, the European Union has been proposing and adopting projects at a pace that can make you dizzy. Here some examples:

Of course, there is more controversy ahead, especially on the subject of migration. It remains unclear what can be implemented and how. But given the task of reconciling the interests of 27 member states, these recent advances are remarkable. Other examples are easy to find.

Revealing for Switzerland

It is now clear that Brexit and the war in Ukraine did not lead to the disintegration of the European Union – which some in Switzerland hoped for – but, on the contrary, consolidated it. This manifests itself in many ways. The right-wing government in Italy plays tame and the notorious bouncers in Poland and Hungary are marginalized.

Significantly, navel-gazing Switzerland does not want to recognize this dynamic in the EU. At the same time, the resistance to further rapprochement is telling. They show to what extent the supposedly liberal Switzerland shields large parts of the economy and public services from competition.

This will be an almost impossible task for the Bundesrat. While the fronts in Switzerland are hardening, the EU is going full steam ahead. In the end, there may be only two options: stop all efforts and try to limit the damage with “autonomous reconciliation”. Or you go on Tutti, for example with the EER.